The Junior 1st Hockey team finished a very impressive fourth out of twelve at the U13 County Cup. The team produced their best hockey of the term, with some great team play and very impressive individual performances. The afternoon started with two solid 0-0 draws against OBH and Finborough, Woodbridge dominating most of the play in these matches, and defending so very well. Woodbridge turned their dominant play into a 1-0 win against South Lee: first, captain Katie Norman, Annie Nicholass and Chloe Macmillan all being influential in forcing a rebound, for Beau Barrington-Hibbert to put away the goal – a perfect example of teamwork; later on, Katie was unlucky to have a goal disallowed, which would have been the icing on the cake for a near perfect game from her; and Ruby Vinton made an excellent last minute save to secure the win. Next up was the tough team from Orwell Park, who had been doing well all afternoon. Woodbridge can be very proud of their play: going 1-0 down, the girls strove for an equaliser which just wouldn’t come, only for Orwell Park to score a counter attack goal which was always the risk. 0-2 was a very respective losing margin to a team which put more than 5 past every other opponent. The last pool match was against Ipswich School, and was a must-win for Woodbridge to progress. Ella Smith scored the winning goal, pouncing on a rebound at a short corner, a just rewarded for an afternoon of top play by her. Annie Nicholass also excelled during the pool stages of the competition.
Woodbridge made it through to the semi-final to face Framlingham Prep, the eventual winners. It was another gutsy performance but the win was not to be. Having already put everything in, the last match of the day against Barnadiston was a tough affair. Tired legs and minds resulted in Woodbridge losing their structure and discipline in the press and Barnadiston took advantage of this to win 1-0.
Well done to the team for superb hockey, especially in the pool stages. In particular Ella Pitt was voted the player of the tournament, and was very impressive in defence and midfield; Ella Smith was excellent too, also showing how much she has learnt so far this term; Katie Norman was consistently good as we have now become used to; and Ruby Vinton was praised by everyone at the event for her goalkeeping. Woodbridge School is very proud of how the team represented the school: they were great ambassadors for young sportswomen.
